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| Mozambique convicts dig for dinner | Mozambique convicts dig for dinner |
| (1 day later) | |
| By Jose Tembe BBC News, Mozambique | By Jose Tembe BBC News, Mozambique |
| A group of prisoners sing happily as they tend to vegetable patches on a prison farm 80km (50 miles) from Mozambique's capital, Maputo. | A group of prisoners sing happily as they tend to vegetable patches on a prison farm 80km (50 miles) from Mozambique's capital, Maputo. |
| They are part of a project launched by the government to get inmates to grow their own food. | |
| Some of the vegetables we are growing are being sold locally to help pay our transport and hospital expenses Prisoner Sergio Matsinhe | Some of the vegetables we are growing are being sold locally to help pay our transport and hospital expenses Prisoner Sergio Matsinhe |
| At present, the southern African country's prison population is more than 15,000 and most are being kept in overcrowded cells with little or no sanitation. | |
| So it is no surprise that a chance to work in the open air is welcomed. | So it is no surprise that a chance to work in the open air is welcomed. |
| "The idea is very good and positive," says Sergio Matsinhe, who is serving a three-year sentence for stealing money. | "The idea is very good and positive," says Sergio Matsinhe, who is serving a three-year sentence for stealing money. |
| "The more we produce, the better we'll be able to vary and improve our diet. At the moment it consists mainly of beans, rice or stiff porridge," he says. | "The more we produce, the better we'll be able to vary and improve our diet. At the moment it consists mainly of beans, rice or stiff porridge," he says. |
| The Tinonganine Prison farm is a 100-hectare plot where the prisoners are growing potatoes, pumpkins, lettuces and other vegetables. | The Tinonganine Prison farm is a 100-hectare plot where the prisoners are growing potatoes, pumpkins, lettuces and other vegetables. |
| The vegetables offer the prisoners a more balanced diet | The vegetables offer the prisoners a more balanced diet |
| "What's more - some of the vegetables we are growing, like cabbages, are being sold locally to help pay our transport and hospital expenses," says Matsinhe. | "What's more - some of the vegetables we are growing, like cabbages, are being sold locally to help pay our transport and hospital expenses," says Matsinhe. |
| Fellow inmate Daniel Muchate, who is serving a three-year jail sentence for burglary, also gives the project the thumbs-up. | Fellow inmate Daniel Muchate, who is serving a three-year jail sentence for burglary, also gives the project the thumbs-up. |
| "The idea to farm the land is a good one, because when you think of it, it's better for a prisoner to be out on the land producing food than sitting in a cell all day," he says. | "The idea to farm the land is a good one, because when you think of it, it's better for a prisoner to be out on the land producing food than sitting in a cell all day," he says. |
| "It's a really great opportunity for us. We feel privileged." | "It's a really great opportunity for us. We feel privileged." |
| Escape? | Escape? |
| But the government does not just have the prisoners' welfare on its mind. | But the government does not just have the prisoners' welfare on its mind. |
| Our budget doesn't support the feeding of these persons in a good manner Justice Minister Benvinda Levy | Our budget doesn't support the feeding of these persons in a good manner Justice Minister Benvinda Levy |
| Justice Minister Benvinda Levy says the country cannot afford to feed the large number of inmates in jail. | |
| "Our budget doesn't support the feeding of these persons in a good manner," she says. | "Our budget doesn't support the feeding of these persons in a good manner," she says. |
| "Many of them stay in prison for long periods, just sitting - they don't do anything, but this is not their fault, it is our fault." | |
| Is she not afraid the prisoners might escape? | Is she not afraid the prisoners might escape? |
| "We have to take some measures to avoid this - because it could happen, but the prisoners that have been involved, most of them have completed half or two-thirds of their sentence so they don't want to run away. | |
| "If they did, they would lose all the rights that they have now. This is the reason that we're confident on this project." | "If they did, they would lose all the rights that they have now. This is the reason that we're confident on this project." |
| Prison deaths | Prison deaths |
| Mozambican prison conditions have been criticised by human rights organisations for a long time. | Mozambican prison conditions have been criticised by human rights organisations for a long time. |
| They have documented cases of appalling sanitation and overcrowding. | They have documented cases of appalling sanitation and overcrowding. |
| In 2004, for instance, about 80 inmates who had been crammed into a cell in the northern province of Nampula died of asphyxiation. | |
| And earlier this year, 15 men suffered the same fate in another prison. | |
| Ms Levy accepts there has been a problem. | |
| "When you are sentenced you just lose your liberty, but you don't lose other rights. You have the right to be fed and you have the right to work. | |
| "So this project reminds us that the prisoners are still human beings and they're still with all their rights." | "So this project reminds us that the prisoners are still human beings and they're still with all their rights." |
| Broadly speaking, the government's decision to get prisoners into agriculture has been welcomed. | Broadly speaking, the government's decision to get prisoners into agriculture has been welcomed. |
| The scheme is being rolled out, starting with prisons around the capital and the neighbouring province of Gaza. | The scheme is being rolled out, starting with prisons around the capital and the neighbouring province of Gaza. |
| Many hope it signals the beginning of a positive action to tackle the many problems facing the country's prisons. | Many hope it signals the beginning of a positive action to tackle the many problems facing the country's prisons. |
| What do you think of this move to get prisoners involved with agriculture and food production? Send us your views using the postform below. | |
| To my mind prisoners should be occupied to lower the mind tension one faces being imprisoned. It may help to prevent malicious thoughts to come into their heads during mere idleness. Besides a prisoner is being fed and maintained using taxpayers' money, so this burden can be successfully reduced in such a useful kind of way!Olga, Kazan, Russia | |
| This is a very good idea and i hope other African countries would emulate this theory. However, i would suggest that it should be on large scale , i mean mechanical so as to be profitable, in effect provide some tokens for prisoners for a take off after leaving the prison. No matter how little at least they have something to fall on to start life again instead of going back to crime when there is nothing to do. Olaseni, Toronto, Canada | |
| The government in Canada is currently in the process of shutting down our country's six prison farms, despite the evidence that they are effective tools of rehabilitation and therapy for convicts, as well as supplementing their diet with healthier food. The farms are considered to be losing money (because the food is consumed by the growers and not sold at market). Its good to hear that other places around the world are using these projects.Andrew, Kingston, Canada | |
| I believe that this project is very good for the prisoners. Planting crops is very productive to them. They will benefit physically, emotionally and mentally. In fact his is already happening in different parts of the world. It is a very good way to spend their time. It is really good that these prisoners get the chance do use resources to keep them productive. Others are not privileged.Angella Sia, United Arab Emirates | |
| Countries must copy this Prison farms projects. Good example for the world. Bless.norma, argentina | |
| This is common practice in Zambia where they've been at it for decades! Prison farms are just about everywhere there's a prison. The prisoners grow all sorts of vegetables, and healthy ones too. Surplus is sold to the public! They also make use of those prisoners nearing the end of their jail terms, to minimise the risk of escape. Evans, UK | |
| I think it is a wonderful idea but why has it taken so long to be introduced? Prison systems all over the world have had this type of scheme for many many years, however I think UK prisons no longer have the manpower to supervise such practices.Meirion Underhill, Naples, Italy | |
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